EnforceShield Secures €1.7 Million Seed Funding to Advance Automated IP Enforcement Platform

EnforceShield, a Lithuanian legal technology firm focused on intellectual property enforcement, has raised €1.7 million in a seed funding round led by Vendep Capital, with FIRSTPICK VC also participating. The fresh capital will be deployed to expand the company’s automated IP enforcement platform, introduce additional workflow automation, and fuel commercial growth in the United States, which currently represents up to 80% of its sales pipeline.

Founded in 2024 by Rytis Rudzinskas, a lawyer with hands-on experience managing digital IP enforcement manually for clients, EnforceShield originated from legal practice insights. Rudzinskas initially funded the company’s early development alongside partners at CEE Attorneys, where he was a partner. The technical build was later undertaken by software developer Aidis Stukas and his team, with Stukas joining as Chief Technology Officer and acquiring an ownership stake.

EnforceShield’s platform serves more than 20 enterprise customers across sectors such as eCommerce, consumer brands, direct-to-consumer businesses, and multi-brand portfolios. It addresses a broad spectrum of online intellectual property abuses, including counterfeit goods, unauthorized sellers, fake listings, cloned storefronts, impersonation adverts, and phishing pages. On average, the system removes over 33,500 IP violations monthly.

The platform is designed to manage the entire enforcement lifecycle—from infringement detection and legal analysis to validation, takedown execution, monitoring, and escalation. Its operational model strategically assigns lawyers and analysts to review roles or complex cases, minimizing their involvement in routine tasks. This approach aims to alleviate the burden on human enforcement teams overwhelmed by the volume of infringements.

The seed funding round coincides with a notable increase in online IP abuse, exacerbated by generative artificial intelligence technologies that facilitate the rapid creation and dissemination of infringing content and counterfeit offers. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that global trade in counterfeit goods amounts to approximately USD $467 billion, representing 2.3% of total global imports.

EnforceShield highlights that this surge in IP violations has widened the gap between infringement volume and the capacity of traditional human-led enforcement teams. The company also references the European Union’s recent classification of intellectual property crime as a law enforcement priority for the 2026 to 2029 cycle, underscoring the growing regulatory focus on IP protection.

Rudzinskas explained the company’s mission: “When I founded this company, I felt we were already operating on borrowed time. Generative AI had made IP abuse a booming business, but enforcement was still largely a human-scale operation. Enterprises didn’t need more lawyers or even a software co-pilot. They needed tech that’s able to think like a lawyer and pilot itself through enforcement workflows. We started by reworking the legal operational workflows I’ve spent years building and operating manually and encoded that expertise into a system that can run autonomously. EnforceShield is now freeing human teams from a glut of repetitive work they’ll never manage manually, and developing the most sophisticated software that can perform the operational enforcement function itself and at scale.”

Vendep Capital’s Investment Manager, Artis Bisers, emphasized the company’s unique value proposition: “AI has made turning service businesses into software into a massive opportunity, and legal services are ripe for this shift. Finding counterfeits was never the hard part for brands. The value lies in everything that happens after discovery, and EnforceShield handles that whole process in one system rather than stopping at detection. Rytis worked on this problem himself for years before building the company, which is precisely the expertise needed to automate it properly. This team has shown it can turn that knowledge into product at genuine speed. We are delighted to be backing them as they extend that automation to every channel where brands are being copied.”

Looking ahead, EnforceShield plans to enhance its platform’s capabilities to address more complex enforcement challenges, including managing repeat offenders and escalations beyond standard takedown procedures. While the platform already operates globally, the company aims to broaden its service to intellectual property owners across diverse sectors such as technology, sport, media, and publishing.

EnforceShield is headquartered in Lithuania and maintains a US subsidiary based in Tennessee, positioning it to support its expanding client base in the American market and beyond.